21. Buckthorne (Rhanmus Caroliniana) (Indian Cherry). Small-sized tree. Heartwood light brown, sapwood almost white. Wood light, hard, close-grained. Does not enter the markets to any great extent. Found along the borders of streams in rich bottom lands. Its northern limits is Long Island, where it is only a shrub; it becomes a tree only in southern Arkansas and adjoining regions.
BUTTERNUT
22. Butternut (Juglans cinerea) (White Walnut, White Mahogany, Walnut). Medium-sized tree, scattered, never forming forests. Wood very similar to black walnut, but light, quite soft, and not strong. Heartwood light gray-brown, darkening with exposure; sapwood nearly white, coarse-grained, compact structure, easily worked, and susceptible to high polish. Has similar grain to black walnut and when stained is a very good imitation. Is much used for inside work, and very durable. Used chiefly for finishing lumber, cabinet work, boat finish and fixtures, and for furniture. Butternut furniture is often sold as circassian walnut. Largest and most common in the Ohio basin. Maine to Minnesota and southward to Georgia and Alabama.
CATALPA
The catalpa is a tree which was planted about 25 years ago as a commercial speculation in Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska. Its native habitat was along the rivers Ohio and lower Wabash, and a century ago it gained a reputation for rapid growth and durability, but did not grow in large quantities. As a railway tie, experiments have left no doubt as to its resistance to decay; it stands abrasion as well as the white oak (Quercus alba), and is superior to it in longevity. Catalpa is a tree singularly free from destructive diseases. Wood cut from the living tree is one of the most durable timbers known. In spite of its light porous structure it resists the weathering influences and the attacks of wood-destroying fungi to a remarkable degree. No fungus has yet been found which will grow in the dead timber, and for fence posts this wood has no equal, lasting longer than almost any other species of timber. The wood is rather soft and coarse in texture, the tree is of slow growth, and the brown colored heartwood, even of very young trees, forms nearly three-quarters of their volume. There is only about one-quarter inch of sapwood in a 9-inch tree.
23. Catalpa (Catalpa speciosa var. bignonioides) (Indian Bean). Medium-sized tree. Heartwood light brown, sapwood nearly white. Wood light, soft, not strong, brittle, very durable in contact with the soil, of coarse texture. Used chiefly for railway ties, telegraph poles, and fence posts, but well suited for a great variety of uses. Lower basin of the Ohio River, locally common. Extensively planted, and therefore promising to become of some importance.
CHERRY
24. Cherry (Prunus serotina) (Wild Cherry, Black Cherry, Rum Cherry). Wood heavy, hard, strong, of fine texture. Sapwood yellowish white, heartwood reddish to brown. The wood shrinks considerably in drying, works well and stands well, has a fine satin-like luster, and takes a fine polish which somewhat resembles mahogany, and is much esteemed for its beauty. Cherry is chiefly used as a decorative interior finishing lumber, for buildings, cars and boats, also for furniture and in turnery, for musical instruments, walking sticks, last blocks, and woodenware. It is becoming too costly for many purposes for which it is naturally well suited. The lumber-furnishing cherry of the United States, the wild black cherry, is a small to medium-sized tree, scattered through many of the broad-leaved trees of the western slope of the Alleghanies, but found from Michigan to Florida, and west to Texas. Other species of this genus, as well as the hawthornes (Prunus cratoegus) and wild apple (Pyrus), are not commonly offered in the markets. Their wood is of the same character as cherry, often finer, but in smaller dimensions.
25. Red Cherry (Prunus Pennsylvanica) (Wild Red Cherry, Bird Cherry). Small-sized tree. Heartwood light brown, sapwood pale yellow. Wood light, soft, and close-grained. Uses similiar to the preceding, common throughout the Northern States, reaching its greatest size on the mountains of Tennessee.